3D-printed scaffold combined to 2D osteoinductive coatings to repair a critical-size mandibular bone defect

• Main Authors: M. Bouyer, C. Garot, P. Machillot, J. Vollaire, V. Fitzpatrick, S. Morand, J. Boutonnat, V. Josserand, G. Bettega, C. Picart
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2021-06-01
• Series: Materials Today Bio
• Subjects: Scaffold; Bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP-2); Tissue engineering; 3D printing; Bone regeneration; Critical-size bone defect
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590006421000211

The reconstruction of large bone defects (12 cm3) remains a challenge for clinicians. We developed a new critical-size mandibular bone defect model on a minipig, close to human clinical issues. We analyzed the bone reconstruction obtained by a 3D-printed scaffold made of clinical-grade polylactic acid (PLA), coated with a polyelectrolyte film delivering an osteogenic bioactive molecule (BMP-2). We compared the results (computed tomography scans, microcomputed tomography scans, histology) to the gold standard solution, bone autograft. We demonstrated that the dose of BMP-2 delivered from the scaffold significantly influenced the amount of regenerated bone and the repair kinetics, with a clear BMP-2 dose-dependence. Bone was homogeneously formed inside the scaffold without ectopic bone formation. The bone repair was as good as for the bone autograft. The BMP-2 doses applied in our study were reduced 20- to 75-fold compared to the commercial collagen sponges used in the current clinical applications, without any adverse effects. Three-dimensional printed PLA scaffolds loaded with reduced doses of BMP-2 may be a safe and simple solution for large bone defects faced in the clinic.